On Ben’s lost in self—identification

秦安彬

【Abstract】Benjamin（also called Ben）， the protagonist in the graduate ， is supposed to have a promising future but feels lost in self-identification for some reasons. Followed by a brief introduction about the movie and self-identification， this paper aims to analyze the cause and manifestation of Bens lost in self-identification based on the theory of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It then draws a natural conclusion and points out the universality of the lost in self-identification of younger generations in all times.

【Key words】The graduate； self-identification； younger generations； Maslows hierarchy of needs

The graduate has generally been regarded as a classic American movie depicting a global picture of young peoples mental state in the 1960s.It deserves a thorough analysis for its impact on American movie industry. Many scholars， critics and commentators have been interpreting the graduate from different perspectives，such as the symbolic meaning of objects in the movie， the narrative sequence of the movie， the special shooting techniques， the manifestation of the counterculture movement and the discourse analysis between Ben and Mrs. Robinson. As for me， Id like to analyze Bens lost in self-identification based on the theory of Maslows hierarchy of needs.

Firstly， Ben loses his identity in satisfying his physical needs. Confronted with Mrs. Robinsons seduce， Ben cannot fight off the temptation of sexy Mrs. Robinson. At first， he has a clear mind of not doing the immoral deeds， as he prepares to leave Robinsons house when Mrs. Robinson unzips her dress. Unfortunately， the innocent boy cannot refuse the physical pleasure and still cannot cease doing so， although the initial experimentation might be caused out of boredom and impulsiveness. When Ben spares his no effort to communicate with Mrs. Robinson on various topics， he wants to stop doing shameful deeds and has a conscious mind that love should not be mixed with sex. However， he soon loses himself again and continues to make another “try” after arguing with Mrs. Robinson.

Secondly， Ben loses his identity because of the sense of insecurity. At the birthday party， Ben wears diving suit his father gives to him. Everyone awaits him to come out，feeling extremely happy，while Ben himself feels nervous and empty.The very thing he can feel and perceive is his deep breath，and the next thing he wants to do is to dive into the swimming pool，thereby being alone and isolated from those happy “creatures”.He can hardly fit into the group of older generations.This scene might indicate that he is feeling insecure when faced with the future and the older generations.

Thirdly， Ben loses his identity due to social non-acceptance and others negative attitude towards his affair with Mrs. Robinson. Not only Bens family but also the whole society hold a contempt attitude toward the love affair between two different generations. For one thing， although Bens parents dont want to interfere too much on Bens private life， they still feel disgraceful about the secret affair， as they force Ben to go on a date with Elaine so as to make thing go on the right track. For another， other than Bens family， the society might hold the same stance， as evidenced by the facial expression of the receptionist in the hotel. The receptionist might know the affair as well though the movie doesnt explicitly show it. From their smiles， audience can easily guess their distain for Benjamin. Contempt from all walks of life makes Ben feel alone and then continue to feel lost and then have low self-esteem.

At last， Ben loses his identity as result of the failure to fulfill self-actualization. Ben tries hard to have his own life and to be a “different” man. He refuses to accept the life arranged by his father， being a postgraduate and starting the plastic business. Like other young people in 1960s， Ben devotes himself to fight against the traditional things. However， he doesnt know his goals and plans and then fail to purse his own “dream” by ending up with the complicated triangle love. Even sitting on the bus， Ben gets his true love， Elaine， but soon the two young people feel lost and sunk in mediation about the unknown future. It indicates that Ben cannot fulfill his dream even at the end of the story.

To crown it all， after analyzing the lost in self-identification based on Maslows hierarchy of needs， one can easily draw a conclusion that Ben loses his identity continually out of his unwise decision in love affairs， his fear and hopelessness of the future， non-acceptance of people and failure to fulfill his dream. Nevertheless，Ben is never “alone”， as he is just a representative figure in his time .His generation and later younger generations also feel lost in finding who they are. Currently， numerous negative news have been reported that many younger generations have done unlawful deeds and some even committed suicide because of the lost mind. Bens “mental problem” has already become a universal topic which people should not ignore.